Before the railroad, stagecoaches were an early American form of public transportation serving Shawano and nearby communities. The most notable local route ran from Shawano to Green Bay with an overnight stop in Angelica, beginning around 1894 and ending in 1906. On January 1, 1908, the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad began passenger service on its new line from Eland to Green Bay. At this site stood the 21-room Wescott House, which served as an overnight stop for stagecoach passengers and also housed a Post Office and General Store. Around 1945, Mike Powers and Herb Rusch removed the building, using some of its lumber to build their homes. Besides carrying passengers, the stage also carried mail and made drop-offs and collections along the route. Stage travel was somewhat risky because of hold-ups, mail robberies, horse runaways, and stages sometimes tipping over because of road conditions.